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Hospitals are using DNA sequencing to generate better treatments and diagnoses for patients, including Dana-Farber, which offers adult patients a test for almost 500 gene variations. Dr. Barrett Rollins say cancer is among the most promising targets because it is essentially a disease in which damaged genes let cells grow without restraint.

Combination therapy can double the survival for a select group of brain tumor patients to nearly 15 years. The therapy is targeted at a particular type of brain tumor – anaplastic oligodendrogliomas. Dr. David Reardon says because this tumor typically affects people in their 30s and 40s, it is encouraging to have a durable benefit.

Two studies have shed new light on brown fat. In one study, Dr. Bruce Spiegelman reported that his team discovered a hormone, irisin, that is released during exercise and helps turn white fat cells into brown fat cells.

Dr. Barrett Rollins explained how Dana-Farber will use a $10 million grant from Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to support cancer imaging research to further the development of targeted cancer therapies.

A new analysis led by Dr. Toni Choueiri suggests that treatment with three targeted cancer drugs may be linked to a slightly increased risk of death, a finding that physicians should consider when developing treatment plans for their patients.

Last year, six-year-old Avalanna Routh "married" her favorite guy, Justin Bieber, in a ceremony at the Jimmy Fund clinic. Yesterday, she shared cupcakes, played Candyland and talked music and baseball with her fantasy hubby in New York.

Although some breast cancer activists are losing patience that a cure has not been found, Dr. Ann Partridge says there have been many advances in breast cancer research and care, including the identification of several breast cancer subtypes, which require treatments to be tailor to each patient.